But It Was All Wet, Mister Auctioneer
A woman in Devon nearly gave away an old umbrella which turned out to be made by Faberge and worth £20,000. Auctioneer Jethro Marles said its owner was having a clear-out and brought in a few pieces she was planning to take to a charity shop or car boot sale. The woman was given the umbrella by her mother-in-law, who has since died, in the 1980s.
FOOTNOTE: Brolly partin'.
4 comments:
That was certainly nice of whoever stopped her from making that mistake! :-)
Sheila
Last sunday, Antiques Roadshow, final item so we knew it was going to be good. Scruffy looking woman and deadbeat hubby brought in a pale green thick glass object, jar, vase. Expect asked where she had acquired it and woman explained that she had wanted the plant that was in the vase. 'And how much did you pay for the plant@ asked the expert. 'twenty pence' she replied.
'Well did you ever notice the signature down here on the bottom?'
'No, never did. Was going to chuck it out until I saw you was comin' ere.'
'Well, madam. This is a one off glass bowl from the hands of Rene Lalique and is worth £25.000.'
Husband...'That'll buy a few beers.
You might be interested to know that Martin McIlroy of fine art auctioneers Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood has blogged about the Faberge Umbrella. His article includes a picture.
How can an umbrella be worth so much money?!
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